I’ve Paid For This Twice Already…

Carnival of Debt Reduction #127 ~ Welcome to the Snowflake Revolution

Welcome to the Carnival of Debt Reduction #127, and by extension, the Snowflake Revolution. There isn’t a more appropriate Carnival to announce the start of my Snowflake Revolution website, which is designed to be a place to have snowflaking blogs, big and small, come together. Snowflaking is not just for debt reduction, but it has been a HUGE part of my overall debt reduction strategy, which has assisted me in eliminating all of our credit card debt to date. If you are interested in becoming a part of The Snowflake Revolution, click on over and read all about it! (And if you have no idea what snowflaking is, read my primer here. )

I was going to do a theme related to debt and the Presidents since it is Presidents’ Day here in the US but… well… I had no idea how partisan the National Debt accumulation is until I started researching it. So, I decided to leave that behind and focus on the carnival at hand instead. I only included articles that were in some way related to debt reduction. I had a LOT of entries that were excellent frugal articles, but didn’t make a direct connection to debt reduction at all, so they were not included. This carnival celebrates debt reduction and also strives to help people find ways to get out of debt, and I wanted to stay true to the spirit of the carnival.

My editors picks are:

• Life Lessons of a Military Wife gives us the down low on debt reduction as well as the traps of The Ugly Payday Loan. I thought this was a great example of how to reduce your debt as well as being aware of what *isn’t* going to help you.
• David on Finance advocates for making sure you don;t burn out with The Failure of Neglect (or, Vacationing on a Budget). We can’t all be 100% focused all the time or we risk running out of steam.
• Natural Moms Talk Radio shares How I Got Out of Debt not as an exact example to follow, but as inspiration and tips for how to incorporate it into your own life.

Stories About Debt Reduction:

• If I Were Debt Free shares his method of debt reduction and how elusive debt can be in How I Tracked, Caught, And Tamed The Beast.
• Money Myths shares his personal triumph in DEBT-FREE! (except the house). Click on over and give a hearty congrats!
• Small Cents goes through a similar dilemma I did with The Cost of Blogging. That’s why I have ads. To pay for my domain so I can blog without incurring more debt.
• My Dollar Plan decides if she should pay off her vehicles, sell them, or stay the course with 2008 Budget Series: Vehicles.

Methods To Reduce Debt:

• Frugal For Life shares her perspective on the utility of the Debt Snowball method in A Snowball in Hell. I also use a debt snowball method, although I stray from Ramsey with the order I chose.
• No Credit Needed talks from experience with Speed Up You Debt Reduction And Increase Your Savings. His formula worked for him and can work for you too!
• Debt Reduction Formula posts a cautionary tale with Debt Reduction: What to Do Before You’re Fired. I should have read this about 7 years ago…
• Oh My Aching Debts shares Negotiating Debt Settlement with Original Creditors, if you need to negotiate settlements for your debts, read this handy guide!
• Prime Time Money explains the method and reasoning behind the Debt Reduction Bar Graph Added to Prime Time Money. A visual reminder can be a great motivator for continued debt reduction.
• The Digerati Life has a great guest post on Teaching Our Kids How To Handle Debt and Credit. Read the ideas and decide for yourself how to approach your kids.
• Squawkfox shares a tool for determining your debt and how to pay it off with New Tool: Loan Amortization Calculator. Save big interest bucks tomorrow by better managing and paying down debt today!

Dangerous Tricks to Watch Out For:

• Motherhood101APlus shares this really scary trap to get you even more in debt (I was amazed!) with Home Ownership Acclerator -Helpful or Not .
• Ask Mr Credit Card’s Blog reminds us of the Dangers of Co-signing – It Becomes Your Debt!
• Millionaire Mommy Next Door reviews the book Debt is Slavery. It sounds like an excellent read!
• Free From Broke warns us of some sneaky credit card tactics in Watch Out if You Have a Bank of America Credit Card.
• Early Retirement Extreme is appalled at new debt terms with Now you can have a 7 year car loan. Outrageous!!
• Trust Matters talks about moral outrage in walking away from a loan you committed to with Decaying Social Trust and Moral Indignation.
• Millionaire Money Habits explores the ramifications of credit card use with The Cost of Using Your Credit Card. This is something I did and am glad I have since learned my lesson.

That is all for this edition of the Carnival of Debt Reduction!! Thanks to all the submissions and if you weren’t included, I hear the Festival of Frugality is still open for submissions.

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